MPR: A New Voice

A New Voice
by John Rabe
January 20, 2000

The Twin Cities may be only a few months away from getting its first full-power urban-contemporary station.

MINNEAPOLIS-BASED KANDU COMMUNICATIONS and Blue Chip Broadcasting of Cincinnati are paying $20 million for KARP, a country station with studios in Glencoe, on the dial at 96.3 FM.

(Left to right) Kandu partner Devin Miller, Kandu partner Paul Landry, Blue Chip Pres/CEO Ross Love, Kandu chair Thomas Ross.
Photo: John Rabe

On the new station, you'll hear music and programs targeted at the Twin Cities growing and geographically-spread-out African-American community. Thomas Ross is a Minneapolis entrepreneur and chairman of Kandu.

Ross: When we as a country go to war, whether it's with Bagdhad or Yugoslavia, the first thing we do is take out our opponent's communication. And for us as a community, an African-American community, not to have full communication, was clearly unacceptable.

Ross has been trying to get a full-power urban station on the air for 10 years. No luck, until eight months ago, when he started discussions with Blue Chip Broadcasting. At 15 stations, Blue Chip is the second-biggest black-owned radio station chain in the country, and it's expected to expand.

Blue Chip President and CEO Ross Love says that in the mere five years he's been in broadcasting, he's seen a dramatic reduction in diversity.

Love: Broadcasting is a public trust, they're called the public airwaves, and it's very important that there be broad representation of ownership and employment within the industry. And part of what Blue Chip Broadcasting and our new partnership with Kandu Communication is all about is trying to keep that alive and growing.

Radio analyst Tom Taylor says Kandu and Blue Chip's strategy of mixing music with community service can make money if the mission is sincere.

Taylor: Certainly if you look at successful black stations around the country - and there are some very commercially successful black stations - those stations often are successful because they're based on a foundation of strong connections to the community. That community is very aware of those connections. They know that they're there, and they know when they're not there.

Taylor thinks FCC approval of the sale will be a slam dunk, especially given Blue Chip's good track record.

"Those stations often are successful because they're based on a foundation of strong connections to the community. That community is very aware of those connections. They know that they're there, and they know when they're not there. "

- Tom Taylor
Radio consultant

The new station is being endorsed by a group of African-American politicians, including Minneapolis Mayor Sharon Sayles Belton, city councilmember Brian Herron, and state representative Gregory Gray, and by KMOJ, the public African-American station and the only broadcast station doing something close to what Ross and Love envision.

The new station is authorized to broadcast at 100,000 watts, meaning it can blanket the entire metro area. KMOJ has a limited signal in Minneapolis. But KMOJ station manager Vusi Zulu says the new station won't put his station out of business.

Zulu: Oh no, no way in the world will that occur. They will be a very welcome addition to the Twin Cities area. It's like saying that simply because one of the other commercial stations in the European-American market is on it would put KNOW off the air.

Blue Chip and Kandu hope to get the new station on the air by March. They promise a name change for KARP, but haven't picked the new call letters yet.

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